The Texans left tackle added a handful more miscues to the pile against Denver

Tunsil is NFL's most penalized player after loss to Broncos

​Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil
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Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil

The Texans had a terrible day but it was especially rough for left tackle Laremy Tunsil.

 

He started out slow picking up some of the pressure against quarterback Deshaun Watson. That hasn't been constant through the season for the blind side protector. The penalties have been though.

NFLPenalties.com had Tunsil at 13 total penalties with 12 accepted against him on the season. He had nine false starts before the start of the game against the Broncos.

 

He would add three more false starts to the equation against Denver bringing his accepted penalties to 15 making him the most penalized player in football. His false starts alone would rank him tied for third.

The Texans would punt, settle for a field goal, and end the half on the drives where Tunsil was penalized.

Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said it had to be fixed.

"Laremy (Tunsil) has played very well, but he's had a lot of penalties. He'd be the first to tell you that," he said. "We've gotta continue to try to fix it. We've got to continue to try to help him. Nobody feels worse about that than him."

Last season for the Dolphins, Tunsil was penalized just 10 times. In 2018, the Texans also had the most penalized offensive lineman as Julién Davenport led all offensive linemen with 16 penalties. Tunsil's current number of penalties is 16.

This would seem to be not only a Tunsil problem but also a Texans offense problem. They regularly have a player in or near the top ten in offensive line penalties under Bill O'Brien. It would make sense for early season struggles, but this late in the season there shouldn't be issues like this creeping up for a veteran player.

Tunsil explained after the game he felt he was singled out by officials.

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Should Brice Matthews be untradable now? Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images.

The phrase most associated with the late former Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland Raiders’ owner Al Davis was “Just win baby.” One has to think Al would strongly approve of the Houston Astros. Going to the fifth inning Sunday against the Mariners the Astros were facing a 3-0 deficit and staring at the prospect of being swept out of Seattle and having their American League West division lead slashed to just two games. Now after roaring from behind with 11 unanswered runs to take the series finale in the Emerald City, and then sweeping three games from the Diamondbacks in Phoenix, the Astros stand six games up with 60 games to go. So, if the Astros play just .500 ball the rest of the way (which would have them finish with 90 victories), the Mariners have to play .600 ball to catch them. If somehow the Astros are to maintain their season long win pace to the finish line they’d close with 95 wins, and the race is already over unless someone thinks the M’s are poised to uncork a finishing kick of 41-19 or better. It’s quite a pleasing perch from which the Astros survey the standings. Coupled with the freefalling Detroit Tigers having dropped nine of their last ten games, the Astros amazingly start this homestand sporting the best record in the entire American League. On the homestand they follow four games against the team with the second-worst record in the American League (Athletics) with three versus the team with the second-worst record in the National League (Nationals). I know, I know. There is fear of the Astros playing down to the competition, but that is not the way to look at it. A bad Major League team can beat a good team in a series at any time. If it happens it happens, but it wouldn’t mean it happened only because the Astros didn’t take their opponent seriously. This isn’t the NBA.

Trade deadline looming

Of course, It hasn’t been all good news with Isaac Paredes badly injuring a hamstring Sunday. Paredes could be back in three weeks (doubtful), he could miss the rest of the season. GET WELL SOON JEREMY PENA! Lance McCullers’s latest Injured List stint could be considered addition by subtraction for the Astros’ starting rotation. Whether impacted by his blister issue, Lance was lousy in four of his last five starts. So, one week from the trade deadline, if general manager Dana Brown has the ammo to get one deal done, where does he make the upgrade? The left-handed hitter everyone knows the Astros can use regardless of Yordan Alvarez’s status is a natural priority. With the Astros’ weak farm system it would seem difficult for Brown to put forth the winning offer for the top bats that could be in play. That probably rings even truer now, since if he wasn’t already untouchable, Brice Matthews may have cemented untouchable status by darn near winning the first two games of the Diamondbacks series by himself. Matthews is going to struggle mightily to hit for a good average if he can’t make notable improvement in the contact department, but the power is obvious, as is the athleticism in the field. The 23-year-old Matthews and 22-year-old Cam Smith (though presently mired in a three for 36 slump) are the clear (and right now only) two young shining beacons for the lineup’s future.

You can't have enough pitching

While Brandon Walter has been a revelation, a starting pitcher would make sense unless the decision is to hope Spencer Arrighetti and/or Cristian Javier can contribute meaningfully upon return to the big leagues, likely sometime next month. Going after a reliever or two may make more sense in terms of availability and transaction cost. Overall the Astros’ bullpen has been excellent, but Bryan Abreu is the only trustworthy right-handed option for Joe Espada. Back to Walter. Barely two months ago no way Walter himself would have believed he’d be where he is now. Nine starts since being summoned basically out of desperation, Walter has a 3.35 earned run average, and a stunning 13 to one strikeout-to-walk ratio with his 52 strikeouts against a measly four walks allowed in 53 2/3 innings. Walter has pitched fabulously in seven of his nine starts. He only has two wins, but that’s because in five of the six Walter starts the Astros didn’t win the game they failed to score more than two runs. Walter turns 29 years old in September. His only prior big league experience was 23 innings in relief with a 6.26 ERA for the Red Sox two years ago. The Bosox released him last August, the Astros signed him basically as minor league depth. Look at him (and the Astros) now.

For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch! 

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